HILO, HI – The University of Mary women's basketball team finished the Malika Sports Thanksgiving Tournament strong by picking up their first victory of the season over the host University of Hawai'i at Hilo. The Marauders rolled to a 72-44 win thanks to a fast start, a well-balanced offense led by Megan Zander and Reese Wishart, and tight defensive play that limited Hilo's athletic guards.
 
The Vulcans (3-2) held the lead for 11 seconds in the first quarter before the Marauders (1-2) quickly regained it and dominated the rest of the matchup. Ryleigh Wacha helped the Marauders create separation with early scores and resilient play at the boards in the first half.
 
UMary entered the second half with a comfortable 45-21 lead over Hilo but did not let up the pressure onward to a 72-44 victory. Ten Marauders would get in on the scoring as UMary would make 24 of 48 shots (50.0%), and would have better luck shooting from three-point range by sinking 8 of 21 treys (38.1%). "Offensively we shared the ball and attacked the paint," said head coach Rick Neumann. "Everyone contributed today! Now it's back to North Dakota and time to get ready for NSIC action."
 
To complement their highest-scoring game of the regular season thus far, UMary's defense was irresistible to Hilo's offense which averaged 66.8 points per game entering Friday's contest. The Marauders held the Vulcans to a 27.7 shooting percentage and would outrebound the Vulcans 41 to 31, most of them defensively to take away many second-chance opportunities. "We played extremely well on the defensive end of the floor tonight – which was great to see," said Neumann of the Marauders defensive dominance. "Hilo has some extremely quick guards and we did a great job keeping them out of the paint."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
 
Megan Zander once again led the Marauders scoring with 17 points Friday night. The senior guard from Mandan, ND made four of nine shots and was nearly perfect from the free throw line where she made eight of nine. Zander played a vital role for the Marauders as she also created scoring opportunities with five assists, and grabbed six rebounds and a steal.
 
Reese Wishart highlighted the Marauders depth as the senior forward from Buffalo, MN scored 15 points off the bench while shooting a very efficient 71.4% from the field. Wishart also had three rebounds, two steals, and blocked one shot.
 
Ryleigh Wacha once again had a versatile game as she scored 11 points that sparked an early run for the Marauders, and tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven. Wacha also dished out four assists.
 
Addison Rozell scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and blocked a shot against the Vulcans. Rozell has scored double-digits in each of the Marauders' first three games of the season.
 
Megan Voit knocked down a pair of treys for six points, and also had four rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Julia Fitterer and freshman Madison James also added treys.
 
UP NEXT
 
The UMary women's basketball team returns to the mainland ready to open conference play against Northern Sun competition this coming week. The Marauders will be on the road Thursday, December 1 for a 5:30 matchup against Northern State University (5-1, 1-0 NSIC). UMary will then finally return to Bismarck on Saturday, December 3 at 2 pm to face Minnesota State University Moorhead (2-2, 0-1 NSIC).
 
LIVE STATS AND WEBCASTS
Links to radio broadcasts, web streams and live stats are found at www.GoUMary.com/coverage
 
TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased at www.UMaryTickets.com. A tournament pass is available for both days. Also, any ticket purchased for either Friday or Saturday provides admission for all four games that day.
 
Game tickets for Marauders athletics are available online at www.UMaryTickets.com and at the gate for all UMary athletics

• Adults | $10 + fees online and $15 (CASH ONLY) at the gate
• Seniors (65+) and youth 13-18 | $5 + fees online and $10 (CASH ONLY) at the gate
• Children 12 and under accompanied by an adult | Free
• Children 12 and under with no adult present| $5
• UMary students and faculty and staff with their MCard and youth 12 and younger are admitted free

 
Please note that ticket sales at the gate are CASH ONLY purchases. Fans receive a discounted rate on tickets when purchased online at www.umarytickets.com than at the gate. Fans are also able to purchase tickets using credit and debit cards when ordering online while sales at the ticket booth are cash only.
 
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